1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an air distribution system, and more particularly, to an air distribution system for supplying fresh conditioned air to individual office work spaces through cellular flooring.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An early air circulation system supplied conditioned air through individual cells of metal cellular flooring units, see U.S. Pat. No. 2,182,686 issued to J. H. YOUNG. In the YOUNG '686 arrangement, discharge outlets are provided, each associated with a single cell of the metal cellular flooring unit. The outlets may be provided in either the floor, the vertical walls, or partitions of different rooms throughout the building. The YOUNG '686 system may be termed a single duct air conditioning system wherein air of a predetermined temperature is supplied to all areas of the building.
Dual duct air conditioned systems employing two or three ducts to convey hot and cold conditioned air are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,729,429 issued to GOEMANN and 3,356,134 issued to SAWYER.
GOEMANN '429 provides separate ducts conveying hot and cold air to the perimeter of a building where the hot and cold air streams are mixed within above-the-floor sill boxes to provide air of a desired temperature. The air is then discharged into the building. The GOEMANN '429 arrangement is concerned solely with air conditioning the perimeter of a building, or supplying only cold air at pre-selected locations in the interior of the building.
SAWYER '134 provides a dual duct air conditioning system where hot and cold air is supplied to above-the-floor window sill mixing boxes at the perimeter of the building and to individual above-the-floor interior mixing boxes uniformly spaced throughout the area of the floor. In the SAWYER '134 arrangement, hot air is provided only through a conduit extending adjacent to the perimeter of the building; whereas no hot air is introduced into the conduits extending through the interior of the building. Thus, the interior mixing boxes provide only cold air.
A personal environmental module for controlling the environment in a work space is describe in U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,397 issued to DEMETER, ET AL. The module is situated beneath the desk of the workstation and has a first inlet receiving room air and a second inlet receiving conditioned air from an underfloor duct. The housing includes two outlets communicating with vents situated on top of and at opposite ends of the desk, and from which conditioned air is discharged. Temperature control in the module is accomplished by separately controlling the amount of pre-conditioned air and room air to obtain the desired temperature.